Martin Kaymer came through his "toughest day" of golf to become the first German to win the US Open.

The 29-year-old beat Americans Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton to win by eight shots at Pinehurst on Sunday.

Kaymer, whose first major win came at the 2010 PGA Championship, posted a nine-under total of 271, the second lowest ever at the event.

"I would say it was probably the toughest day that I have played golf," said the Dusseldorf-born player.

"If you have Americans chasing you, it's never easy being a foreigner."

Analysis

"It was a great performance throughout the week in supremely difficult conditions.

"We have reflected on history and can only think of Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000 as a more dominant performance. This was a performance for the ages."

Kaymer, who received a standing ovation as he walked along the 18th fairway on the final day, added: "To win one major is already very nice in your career, but to win two, it means a lot more.

"Even though I don't feel like I need to prove anything to a lot of people, somehow it's quite satisfying to have two under your belt. I played really, really well on Thursday and Friday and that gave me a really nice cushion."

Kaymer built the joint-biggest halfway lead at a US Open by shooting back-to-back scores of 65 on the par 70 course which averaged more than 73 strokes during four days.